5 ways to eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up

Too many athletes make one of the worst fueling mistakes: skipping breakfast. From lack of time to lack of hunger, there is no lack of excuses out there for why breakfast doesn't happen. However, eating breakfast really IS important. In fact, eating within 30 minutes of getting up is needed to get your body re-energized and re-hydrated after fasting and dehydrating overnight. You can't drive your car anywhere without gas, so don't ask your body to go anywhere without fuel! For those of you who don't know how to make breakfast happen, here are 5 ideas, depending on your morning style.

The pre-planner
From your lunch to your clothing, you set up everything needed before you go to bed the night before. Why not do the same with breakfast? Here are a couple of options:
-Overnight oats: A Pinterest favorite, first grab a mason jar or a good ole tupperware. Combine 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats (not quick or steel), 1/3 cup non-fat milk or soy milk, 1/4 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup diced fresh fruit of choice, 1 tsp sweetener of choice (if desired) and any extras you like such as chia seeds, ground flaxseed, coconut flakes, etc. Mix, place lid on jar and leave in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, grab the container and a spoon and head on out!
-Breakfast at the table: Who says you can't set the table the night before? Here is an easy option: grab a bowl and fill with bran flakes, nut of choice and dried fruit of choice. Set on table. Grab a piece of fruit and set next to bowl. In the morning, all you have to do is add milk or Greek yogurt to your cereal and munch on!

Pre-workout Eating: Don't do what I did

Because I work professionally as a sports dietitian, I consider myself pretty good at workout fueling. So good that sometimes I forgot to use my head which results in really bad workout fueling. That is exactly what happened this morning. To benefit all of you, I want to share my mistake. I will tell you what happened first and then explain why it happened along with what I should have done differently...the same process I use with my clients.

What happened
Wednesday morning is my spin class morning. Spin is at 8:15am. My kids are generally up early (6am-ish). Typically my husband is up with my daughter at 6am, I get up to feed my son around 6:30am and the morning progresses from there. This morning was different in that I got up with my daughter at 6am and my son slept in, which meant I woke him up at around 7am. I ate breakfast with my daughter at 6:15am before tending to my son. I left the house around 7:45am for class.

Tiny eating and exercise tricks for big weight loss

About this time of year, many of my athletes come into my office asking about dropping weight. Whether it is for health, performance or vanity reasons, a request to drop 5-15 pounds is common. Perhaps with the snow thawing and weather warming, your overall health and/or summer races are on your mind too. One thing I emphasize with my athletes is that weight loss is not easy. It takes commitment every day and throughout the day. However, there many tricks with respect to eating and exercising that will increase your chance of success.

Methods of Eating
1. Eat slowly. Commit to at least 10 minutes for a snack and 20 minutes for a meal (minimum). Chew your food thoroughly. Put the fork down and drink water between bites.
2. Eat with someone. Enjoy conversation; this will naturally slow your eating pace.
3. Cut food into small pieces. This creates the allusion of a greater volume of food, as well as - again- slows your eating pace.

Don't let work saboutage your health goals!

For many athletes, finding time to stay on top of everything in their life is difficult. Getting in good training, good sleep, and good nutrition sometimes takes a backseat to having a good marriage, good friendships, or success at work. ABC News Health posted a great article last week about staying healthy at work. Whether your "work" is a job or going to school, here 7 ways work can actually help contribute to your health goals....

1. Take a Walk
At mid-morning, lunchtime, or mid-afternoon, get up from your desk and go for a walk either in a close-by park, along a quiet street or simply around your place of work or study. A recent study found that memory span improves by 20% after a 50-minute nature walk. Maybe we can't all afford 50 minutes outside, but certainly 10 minutes is possible...and leave your phone behind!

2. Surf the Web
Researchers discovered that surfing the web rejuvenated employees and boosted productivity. Another study showed that students who were allowed to surf the Internet during "10 minutes of leisure" were more productive and effective at tasks. It's important to relieve your mind as well as your body!

3. Make Your Desk a Mini Gym
The article gives great ideas for how to use your chair, the edge of your desk or the floor to do dips, squats, and push-ups. Or why not just bring dumbbells to work!?

4. Keep Moving
We hear it all the time - take the stairs! But this is really true! Take a break every hour or two; get up and move around. Sitting for long periods of time is often the reason for lower back pain and other issues because supporting muscles get weak. Set an alarm to remind yourself to get up and move. Read the article for more ways to keep moving, such as walking meetings.

5. Check Your Posture
It is especially important for athletes to have good posture to help avoid injury and muscle imbalances. Check the article for the steps to take to check and adjust your posture while sitting at your desk.

6. Plan Ahead
The key to good nutrition! Work places and libraries are full of vending machines, fast-food type convenience stores, and other nasty temptations. Pack and bring your snacks and meals to avoid turning to that late-afternoon vending machine candy bar. Have an office refrigerator? Use it! And don't forget to drink your water...

7. Be Aware of Good Hygiene and Food Safety
The American Dietetic Association just published results from a survey that found that 62% of Americans eat lunch at their desk, 50% snack at their desk, and 27% eat lunch at their desk. That can lead to issues with food safety, so make sure if you eat your desk that you are keeping it clean.

Be extraordinary,

RDKate